FACT FINDING REPORT OF POLICE ENCOUNTER IN NUH DISTRICT, HARYANA
In Nuh District of Haryana, a boy from Khadkhadi village - Munfaid @ Chauda s/o Islam - was
killed in a police encounter on 16.09.2017. Munfaid was a 30 year old man, who is survived
by his wife and a minor daughter 3 years old. Munfaid belonged to the Meo Community and
was engaged in the profession of farming. The victim’s father has in a written complaint to
Police (see Annexure - 1) alleged that in the evening of 15/9/2017, his son called him and his
father in law (Khurshid s/o Rehmat) to village Dekadi, PS Nuh. There Munfaid told them that
CIA (Central Investigation Agency, Haryana)1 Staff members namely, Vikrant, Shakti Singh,
Satish and Siddharth had called him to Rewari to meet them, and have told Munfaid that
they will close all the false cases registered against him if he does some work for them. The
victim’s father and Father in Law, in order to escape the everyday harassment by the police,
advised Munfaid to do whatever the police are asking him to do. Thereafter, on the morning
of 16.09.2016, the victim’s father was informed that his son was shot at Kala Pahad ki
Ghhati, Tauru Nuh Road at around 2-3 am. In his complaint, the father has alleged that the
above named officials have conspired and murdered his son. He went to the Mortuary of
Nuh Hospital, where he identified the dead body of his son.
However, in a blatant attempt to cover up the
incident by the police, the FIR lodged by the
Police, is not based on the complaint given by the
victim’s father. The FIR is infact based on the
statement given by Inspector Mastana, CIA Staff,
Nuh, Haryana. The FIR bearing No. 0358, dated
16.09.2017, filed at 10.39am, in PS Tauru, District
Nuh, u/s 302, 201 IPC and Section 25 Arms Act,
1959, has been filed against unknown accused
persons. (See Annexure 2). The FIR states that
Inspector Mastana, came across a white pick up
truck (registration number of the truck not
mentioned in the FIR) in the middle of the road
near an abandoned mining Kanta in Tauru Ghhati,
where he found an unidentified person grievously
injured. The victim was taken to Nalhad Hospital,
Nuh, where he was declared dead. It was found
that the person was shot in his neck by unknown
people. The CIA Staff contacted the police station, and the FIR was thus registered.
1 As per official website of CIA (Faridabad police), “Main purpose of partition in these staff is to control
specific crime by a specilised staff like anti Bangladeshi staff which arrests illegal immigrants of Bangladesh living in Faridabad & P.O. Bail-Jumper staff arrests P.O. & Bail-Jumper mostly.” Available at: http://faridabad.haryanapolice.gov.in/PoliceUnit_CrimeBranch.htm
Figure 1: Dead Body of Munfaid with bullet wounds in the neck
The Post Mortem was conducted
Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Govt
Medical College on 16th September,
2017 at around 4:35 PM by a board
consisting of three doctors and the post
mortem process was videographed. As
per the Post Mortem Report, a reddish
contusion was found on the front right
side of the chest and firearm entry
wounds were found on the front right
side of the neck. A deformed metallic
bullet of size 1.5x1 cm was found over
the right side of second thoracic
vertebrae. The PM Report also states that along with the dead body, a black T-Shirt and a
red baniyan were received, both of which were cut open from the front. After the Post
Mortem, the police were handed over a sealed packet bearing two seals containing the
bullet recovered from the body.
A Fact Finding on the alleged police encounter was conducted by members of a collective
called Citizens Against Hate (CAH), on 17th September, 2017. The team comprised of Arif
Mohd (a Nuh-based activist) Fawaz Shaheen (Quill Foundation), Mangla Verma (a Delhi-
based lawyer), Salman Khan (a TISS Fellow) and Vipul Kumar (Quill Foundation). The
members of the fact finding team met the victim’s father and father-in-law and visited the
scene of crime. Some interesting aspects that came up during their interaction with the
family have been summarised below:
● The residents of village Rozkemeo informed the fact finding team that Munfaid was
accompanied by his three friends when he had gone to meet the police officers, who
saw Munfaid being shot by the police. The eye witnesses have informed the
residents of the village that the police officers came in a green Bolero Car which
stopped right infront of their vehicle. Munfaid who was sitting in a car with his three
other friends was shot at by the officers.The three friends, scared for their own life
and limb ran away from the spot and informed the villagers about the murder. The
residents of the village also informed the fact finding team, that the eye witnesses
perceiving a threat to their lives have not yet given a statement to the police and are
currently in hiding.
● According to Islam Hussain, the victim’s father, Munfaid was in constant touch with
the police officers regarding a false case of rape that had been filed against him. He
further stated that Munfaid from time to time, on the instruction of the police
officers, used to carry out some work for them. On the eveining of 15th September
Figure 2: Villagers protesting at CHC Nuh
2017, the police officers were constantly calling Munfaid, asking him to do some
work for them in return for taking out his name from the rape case against him.
Khurshid, the father in law of the deceased mentioned the names of Vikrant and
Shakti Singh, saying that Munfaid had even given one of them Rs 2000 a few days
back to remove his name from the case.
● The residents of village Rozkemeo informed the fact finding team that the police had
first taken the dead body of Munfaid to Nalhad Medical College Hospital, Nuh. It was
here that he was declared dead by the doctors. Thereafter, the police pressurised
the doctors there to conduct the post mortem. However, the doctors in Nalhad
Hospital refused to conduct the post mortem on a unidentified body, because as per
procedure, the post mortem on an unidentified body can be conducted only after 3
days. Thereafter, the police took the body to CHC, Nuh for the post mortem. The
doctors in CHC, Nuh also refrained from conducting the post mortem and the police
had to call a doctor from Palwal to conduct the post mortem. The residents say that
the intention of the police was to conduct the post mortem before the deceased’s
family members could arrive to enable the police to tamper with the evidence
present on the body of the deceased.
● Islam, Munfaid’s father has alleged that the doctor along with the police officers
were trying to tamper with the dead body of Munfaid, with an intention to erase
evidence. He saw them tearing the clothes present on Munfaid’s body and trying to
remove something from his body. When he objected, he was abused and asked to
leave the room.
● The victim’s father at around 3:00 PM gave a written statement to the police,
wherein he has named 6 CIA Staff members. The SP, Mewat assured him that an FIR
will be lodged on the basis of his statement. When the fact finding team met Islam,
he was not sure if his statement had been converted into an FIR. It was infact the
fact finding team who apprised the victim’s father of the fact that the FIR had
already been lodged by the police at 10:39 AM on 16.09.2017 on the basis of the
statement given by Inspector Mastana, CIA, Nuh and that his statement is not a part
of the FIR, nor has a separate FIR been lodged on the basis of his statement.
This is not the only case of police encounter in Nuh. The past few years has seen a surge in
cases of extra judicial killings of muslim youths by police in Nuh and Faridabad Districts of
Haryana. These are mostly on the suspicion of them being criminals. A recently published
fact finding report called “Lynching Without End”, by Citizens Against Hate, looks at
religiously motivated vigilante violence in India. The Report states that a rapid listing of
police encounter cases led to the identification of 11 such cases involving 15 deceased, in
Nuh district alone. The list of 11 cases of encounters in Nuh District identified in the report
‘Lynching Without End’ has been presented in Annexure - 3.
TESTIMONIES OF THE FAMILY MEMBERS:
Since the incident had taken place a day prior to our visit, the family members were grief
stricken, demanding justice for the cold blooded murder of their son. The testimonies of the
family members of the deceased have been recorded below:
Islam Hussain s/o Hussain Khan, (father of the victim), R/o Village Khadkhadi, District Nuh.
Islam Hussain told the fact finding team that a
false case of raping a 17 year old minor girl was
filed against his son Munfaid and Anis by a
resident of his village. An FIR u/s 6 POCSO and
Section 506 IPC was filed on 30.05.2017 in Women
P.S., Mewat, against Munfaid and Anis. According
to Munfaid’s father, pursuant to the FIR being
lodged, Munfaid was residing in Village Dekadi at
his relative’s place. According to his father,
Munfaid was in constant touch with the police
officers regarding his case and from time to time,
on the instruction of the police officers, used to carry out some work for them. On the
evening of 15th September, 2017, Munfaid’s father and his Father in Law had gone to
Dekadi village to meet Munfaid. The victim’s father further stated that while they were
interacting with Munfaid, he was getting constant calls from the police. It was then that
Munfaid told them about the that CIA Staff members namely, Vikrant, Shakti Singh, Satish
and Siddharth had called him to Rewari to meet them, and have told Munfaid that they will
close all the false cases registered against him if he does some work for them. The victim’s
father and Father in Law, in order to escape the everyday harassment by the police, advised
Munfaid to do whatever the police are asking him to do. They last saw Munfaid at around 5
in the evenong when he left to go to Rewari to meet the police officers. Thereafter, at
around 6:00-6:30 am on 16th September, 2017, the family of Munfaid got to know from
villagers that his son has been murdered. At around 8.00-8.30 am they reached the
Community Health Centre (CHC) Nuh, where Munfaid’s body was kept.
Munfaid’s father further told the fact finding team that when they reached the room in the
Mortuary, they saw a few doctors and a group of police men standing next to the stretcher
on which Munfaid’s body was kept. Munfaid’s father has alleged that the doctor along with
the police were trying to tamper with the dead body with an intention to erase evidence. He
was them tearing the clothes present on Munfaid’s body and trying to remove something
from his body. When Munfaid’s father objected, he was abused and asked to leave the
room. After 20 minutes, when Munfaid’s father came back to the Mortuary room with his
Figure 3: Fact Finding team with Islam (Father of the deceased)
advocate, the police officers and the doctor started locking the room and running away.
While leaving the doctor told Munfaid’s father that he was not involved in anything and that
the police had called him there.
Thereafter, a police force of about 250 police officers were deployed in CHC, Nuh as the
people from the nearby villages had gathered at the CHC demanding a fair investigation in
the case. At around 3.00 PM the Superintendent of Police, Ms. Nazneen Bhasin visited the
CHC and assured the family of Munfaid of a fair investigation in the case. She further
assured the family that if the police officers are found to be involved in the murder, they will
be suspended and arrested. The victim’s father at around 3:00 PM gave a written statement
to the police, who assured him that an FIR will be lodged on the basis of his statement.
When the fact finding team met Islam, he was not sure if his statement had been converted
into an FIR. It was infact the fact finding team who apprised the victim’s father of the fact
that the FIR had already been lodged by the police at 10:39 AM on 16.09.2017 on the basis
of the statement given by Inspector Mastana, CIA, Nuh and that his statement is not a part
of the FIR.
Khurshid s/o Rehmat, (father in law of the deceased) R/o Village Rojkameo, District Nuh.
According to Munafiad’s father-in-law
Khurshid, on Friday, 15th September 2017, he
and Munfaid’s father Islam Hussain had gone
to meet Munfaid, who was then staying at his
maternal uncle’s house in Dekadi village.
There he noticed that Munfaid was
constantly getting phone calls, which Munfaid
said were from police officials. According to
Munfaid, they were asking him to do some
work for him in return for taking out his name
from the criminal case against him. Khurshid
mentioned the names of Vikrant and Shakti
Singh, saying that Munfaid had even given one of them Rs 2000 a few days back to remove
his name from the case.
Khurshid and Islam both urged Munfaid to meet the police officials and try to get his name
removed. At around 5-5:30 pm, Munfaid accordingly left for Rewadi village to meet the
officers. After this, Khurshid did not hear anything of Munfaid till the next morning, when
relatives from Munfaid’s village called him to say that he had been killed. Khurshid also told
the fact finding team, that the personal belongings of Munfaid that he was carrying with
Figure 4: Fact Finding Team with Khurshid (Father in
Law of the deceased)
himself such as his phone, wallet etc were not returned to the family and the family is
unaware if the personal belongings are with the police or were not found on the body.
Information given by residents of Village Rojkameo, District Nuh:
When the fact finding team met Khurshid, the father in law of the deceased, the residents of
the village informed the team that the police had first taken the dead body of Munfaid to
Nalhad Medical College Hospital, Nuh. It was here that he was declared dead by the doctors.
Thereafter, the police pressurised the doctors there to conduct the post mortem. However,
the doctors in Nalhad Hospital refused to conduct the post mortem on a unidentified body,
because as per procedure, the post mortem on an unidentified body can be conducted only
after 3 days. Thereafter, the police took the body to CHC, Nuh for the post mortem. The
doctors in CHC, Nuh also refrained from conducting the post mortem and the police had to
call a doctor from Palwal to conduct the post mortem. The residents say that the intention
of the police was to conduct the post mortem before the deceased’s family members could
arrive to enable the police to tamper with the evidence present on the body of the
deceased.
The residents also informed the fact finding team that there are three eye witnesses to the
murder of Munfaid. These eye witnesses are the friends of Munfaid who had accompanied
him to meet the police officers. The eye witnesses have informed the residents of the village
that the police officers came in a green Bolero Car which stopped right infront of their
vehicle. Munfaid who was sitting in a car with his three other friends was shot at by the
officers. The three friends, scared for their own life and limb ran away from the spot and
informed the villagers about the murder. The residents of the village also informed the fact
finding team, that the eye witnesses perceiving a threat to their lives have not yet given a
statement to the police and are currently in hiding.
Statements of villagers from Sonkh village (near the site where body was allegedly found
by police)
According to the Police version, Munfaid’s body was found in a white pick up truck in the
middle of the road near an abandoned mining kanta in Tauru Ghati. The place is basically on
a short stretch of road running along a hill on the way from Nuh to Tauru, just after Shonk
village (district Nuh). On reaching the place, we found that the road had been closed off just
after Shonk village on the orders of Haryana government for repair and road construction.
The people manning the check post there said that no cars were being allowed to go
through. On being asked about the site where the incident happened, they said that the
location was just a short distance before the other checkpost where the road block ended.
Villagers in Sonkh said that on the night of 15th September a Bolero with police lights had
rushed past the village in the direction of the alleged site of the incident just after 12 am.
The next morning between 6-7 am a PCR vehicle had also gone in the same direction.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
• An FIR should be registered by the police based on the statement given by the
deceased’s father.
• The four CIA Staff Members named by the deceased’s father in his statement should
be immediately suspended, arrested and along with criminal prosecution, a
departmental inquiry should be instituted against them.
• The guidelines laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in People’s Union
for Civil Liberties & Anr. Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors [Criminal Appeal No. 1255 of
1999] for investigation of police encounters should be followed by the police as the
standard procedure for thorough, effective and independent investigation.
• The family of the deceased and the three eye witnesses should be immediately
provided witness protection.
• The family of the deceased should be provided compensation according to the
provisions laid down in CrPC.
Annexure – 1
Statement of Islam Hussain (father of the deceased) given to the police:
Annexure – 2
FIR No. 0358, dated 16.09.2017, lodged by P.S. Tauru, District Nuh.
Annexure - 3
Further cases of targeted attacks / ‘encounters’ (in police custody) we came across
in Nuh district, Haryana
Date of occurrence
Name of deceased
Address Place & manner of ‘encounter’ killing
Case details
17-02-2017 Ruddar Baten village, Kosi, UP
03-01-2017 Kamaluddin Badwa, Nuh Dadri, Kitlana village FIR lodged but not in court
07-10-2016 Nizamuddin Kot, Palwal Police killing FIR registered on friends/cross cases.
20-08-2016 Naseem Adbar, Nuh Bhiwari No case, no post mortem, no FIR
10-08-2016 Wasim Bawla village, Tauru block, Nuh
Near Mahendergarh No court case yet.
01-01-2016 Ajruddin Ghasera, Nuh Dharuhera, Rewari FIR registered, but not in court Tahir Punhana, Nuh
12-10-2015 Azad Alam Dhandhuka, Nuh No FIR
29-05-2015 Zahid Dhulawat village, Tauru block Nuh
PS: Kasola, Rewari district Haryana
Police defaced victim’s face. Body recovered after 3 days. Case in High Court.
Karar
28-02-2014 Ershad Uttawad, Palwal custodial death FIR registered. Rs 8.39 lac claim by family, released.
29-12-2013 Farid Rud, Bharatpur
2013 Niaz Mohammad
Dudoli m Punhana
custodial death
16-05-2010 Azmat
Mamlika village, Punhana block, Nuh
Kosi Kalan, Mathura district, UP Unprovoked firing by UP Police. Body too not easily traceable.
NHRC awarded compensation. UP Police still not taking action against culprits. No court case yet.
Nasim
Source: Rapid listing conducted by Citizens Against Hate, published in ‘Lynching Without
End’ – Report of Fact Finding into religiously motivated vigilante violence in India.